Happy Wednesday! In 4 more days I will be moved into my new apartment, yay! And out of my parents’ back bedroom, double yay!
Here is the place for us all to talk about what we have been doing this week. Feel free to come back to it at any point if you see a new movie or want recommendations or anything else.
For myself, I finished the new season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt while packing up my apartment, and showed a friend my edit of Raees (fast-forward some of the politician scenes, stop the movie right when he wins the election and call it a happy ending). I am still officially reading Confessions of a Thug/Thugs of Hindostan, but I am spending a lot of time staring out the train window instead of reading, which probably means I should take a break and read something I actually want to read for a while.
And I am thinking about how my car is currently filled to the brim with 10% of my worldly goods. The 10% I don’t want the movers to see/I need to have always available to me and not packed in boxes. So, baskets of non-perishable food (rice and spices and stuff), some dishes so I don’t have to hunt for them right after I move in, bedding, shower curtain, and of course my 4 foot by 3 foot poster of Shahrukh in “Dard-E-Disco” in the expensive frame that has been hanging in the bathroom of every apartment I have had for the past 10 years. Really really don’t want the movers to see that. Don’t want most people to see that, thus the bathroom location.
(this poster. Be very jealous of me for owning it, and very sympathetic towards me for having to sneak it past judgemental professional movers.)
dontcallitbollywood 
Anupama Chopra’s Film Companion site often gets originally scripts of movies and allows you to download them. Yesterday, they put up the script of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Though the script is written in Hindi, I thought you still might be interested in taking a look 🙂
https://www.filmcompanion.in/article/download-the-script-of-kuch-kuch-hota-hai
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This is a really cute and fun skit that a group of kids did on a Telugu TV show when Rana came on. I know that’s in Telugu but it’s quite cute, basically a their own retelling of Baahubali 2 🙂
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I think some of these kids could be cast in my fanfic version of Young Tamannah and Young Prabhas 2!
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 7:41 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watched Badrinath Ki Dulhania and had the expected mixed feelings. I don’t think it was as bad as people said it was…there is a relatively feminist ending. And I guess we’re just used to awful parents not getting punished in these romances. Varun’s dad is particularly evil and the choking scene could have been left out and a lot of the faults of the movie could have been written off. I really wanted more resolution with the brother’s story. Was he drinking because his father didn’t respect his wife or because he didn’t respect himself for not standing up for her or both (probably)? I wanted to see their whole story play out more than the main story. Varun and Alia do have a fun chemistry and I’ll admit that romance-wise, she’s best paired with him at this point. Still don’t like Varun that much though.
Also binge-watched the whole first series of Anne with an E and loved it! Very polarizing, too. I think one can appreciate the books, the 1980s series and the new one all separately and equally. This new one is, yes, darker but it’s also filmed beautifully and I like how the screenwriter has filled in story lines and added some modern but realistic aspects. Anne getting her first period was so well done.
Phillauri and Rangoon are out there online but still don’t have subtitles and I’m dying!
PS I have a giant poster of Jodhaa Akbar in my kitchen:)
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The thing that surprises me most is your reaction to Anne With An E! What I have heard about it has made me very dubious (especially since Anne of Green Gables books have been my comfort reads since I was 8). I don’t mind making the story a little darker, it’s plenty dark already if you read between the lines, but I am worried about it retroactively changing how I feel about the books, you know? I don’t want to be reading them thinking “gah, so dark under the surface!”, I want to be reading them thinking “aw, my Mom read this aloud to me when I was little.”
For Badrinath, it sounds like I probably liked it slightly better than you, but the same things you had issues with are the things I had issues, just to a slightly lessor degree. I agree totally that the brother’s love story was much more interesting than the “heroes”. I would love to see a movie about that, about a couple that has an arranged marriage and bonds because they have both had their dreams killed, and eventually falls in love. I know there are a fair number of films with that plot, but it is usually more about both of them or one of them being in love with someone else prior to marriage. I want a movie where it isn’t about a love story, it’s about him wanting to take an unreliable job that now he can’t because he is saddled with a wife, and her wanting to have an ambitious career and now she can’t because she has to wait hand and foot on her in-laws. Bangalore Days comes close with one of its storylines, but not quite.
Also, I have a giant poster of Veer-Zaara in my kitchen, but that one I was able to roll up and hide in a box, so I’m not as worried about it. Plus, it’s like respectable. Dard-E-Disco, unless you somehow write a lengthy footnote about re-appropriating the camera for the female gaze, is not.
Wait, is this Jodha-Akbar poster of “The sword practice scene”? In which case, should I lend you my re-apprropriating the camera for the female gaze footnote? And also. where did you buy it so I can have one?
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 8:25 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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If you’re super-attached to the Anne books, then maybe the show isn’t for you? I’ve read most of LMM’s novels and many of those short story collections that were being published in the 80s and 90s. After the Anne books, Tangled Web is my favorite. So I’d consider myself a big fan, BUT I hardly ever re-read so due to memory issues I tend not to be as concerned about loose adaptations. Watch the first episode which is 80 minutes and you’ll know pretty soon if it’s for you.
Bangalore Days does do that similar story line well! The experience of watching Badrinath Ki Dulhania was a lot like watching the film adaptation of Mansfield Park, where I was less invested in the main couple but I really cared about why the brother was drinking himself to death! Plus he was played by James Purefoy and he’s so much cooler than Jonny Lee Miller. The brother in BKD was also sexier than Varun in my opinion:)
No, not the sword-practice scene but the big heads one with the charging army below. Definitely on the Veer-Zaara poster level of respectibility.
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Is it just me or did the brother in BKD remind you of Mohnish Behl?
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Yes, a little bit! I looked the BKD guy (Yash Sinha) up and he is apparently a television actor. I wonder why more actors don’t successfully cross over from television. This role could be the peak of this career in films and that’s sad!
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We’ve had a couple of former TV actors like Sushant Singh Rajput, Fawad Khan, and Vikrant Massey but I don’t think many crossover successfully. The perfect groom in Humpty Sharma, Siddharth Shukla, was also a television actor but I don’t think he was in another movie after Humpty Sharma.
By the way, Rangoon is on Einthusan with subtitles 🙂
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Shahrukh! Don’t forget Shahrukh. But that was a long long time ago.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 2:43 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh, and I listened to an interesting 50 minute podcast episode of BBC World Service’s The Documentary called The Khan Mutiny about the 3 Khans and the history of Muslims in Bollywood. Kabir Khan and Anupama Chopra and others were interviewed. The narrator addresses the recent issues with Pakistani actors, Aamir Khan’s public comments, and the growing political power of the Hindu nationalist movement. Very interesting and it made me think about the fact that most of the stars of the new generation come from Hindu or Sikh backgrounds. Besides Alia Bhatt and Imraan Khan (does he even count as new or a star anymore:(), I couldn’t think of any immediately. Not to be too political, but it kind of worries me…
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That is a fascinating point. You are right about the new actors. One way nepotism might be good, the Khan children, everyone from Sara Ali Khan to Aryan, could bring the Muslim back. But otherwise, I can’t think of anyone either.
I could see it being a sign of it being harder to be a public figure with a Muslim name (perhaps there are more “Dilip Kumars” in the industry than we realize? People who renamed themselves?), or just a sign that film is getting more and more “respectable” and therefore less of an industry for the struggling underclasses, more for the established upperclasses who tend to the Hindu. Thank you so much for pointing this out, it is definitely something I am going to be hyper aware of from now on.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 8:33 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Good point about the next generation of star kids. Could balance it out better.
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Final grades are in! Commencement is over! (Our university has a big one and then smaller ones for departments and colleges, so it is an ordeal.) And, best of all, I am now RETIRED, which leaves me with more time for movies, writing, travel, playing with the grandchildren, making things, long conversations with friends, and other adventures. Today I am cleaning a closet — how exciting is THAT???
But I also had time, between work sessions, to see four SRK films in my quest to re-watch them all in chronological order: Yes Boss, Pardes, Dil to Pagal Hai, and Duplicate. I know the middle two are more popular, but I got a real kick out of Duplicate. So much slapstick comedy, Juhi is so good, Manu is so bad!! Dual roles are such fun.
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You actually go to all the commencements? You are a SAINT! All the academics I know get all these guilting emails from their department heads trying to make them show up, and then they ignore them all and only go to the one for the department they are actually in and then go on vacation.
One of my closest friends loooooooooves Duplicate. Which I make fun of her for constantly, because it is not a good movie. But it is so cheerful! Yes Boss, I find more enjoyable on every watch. And also deeper. There are some real messages there, not just about “love over money”, but about power and class and abuse and stuff. Mostly it’s a fun time, but it’s also really sincere. And Shahrukh gives a great performance, more than just mugging.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 8:48 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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By going to all the commencements (have only missed six times), the cost-per-wear of my regalia was reduced to $1.60. Plus REGALIA! As a fashion historian, how could I not indulge in medieval guild cosplay?
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I am required to go to commencement every year, in my regalia which I bought myself (or borrow a crappy nylon gown and undergraduate cap) in a freezing auditorium (we commence in early March in Japan). Cost-per-wear is a nice thing to think about! I got my PhD in 2012, will go to approximately 15 more commencements before I retire: only $25 per wear! Hmm. I guess that’s less than, say, an Oscar gown, but still a bit much for an outfit.
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I watched 3 movies this weekend. One of 3 languages each
Ghatak
Love Punjab
Glory
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Ghatak is according to me is most underrated Bollywood movie. It looks like only a dumb action movie. But it is more than that. It is pretty serious and dark. It is of comparatively low budget but somehow had starcast of Sunny Deol , Amrish Puri and Danny. All of them posts a great performance. It is highly underrated
Lets talk about this movie point by point
Film had great actors like Sunny Deol, Amrish Puri, Danny Dengzopa, Meenakshi Sashadri. . Though budget was not very high but still it managed to get a good
There was nothing special about story but execution was very good. It is a simple story about a DOn trying to capture land of poor people. But its execution is brilliant. We see hero evolve. We see Kashi(Sunny Deol) broken and completely change. He changes from a simple guy to an unstoppable juggernaut.
Kashi is a simple guy. He is a good wrestler and always try to do good things. But we do see him evolve as he gets broken. He also get frustrated by all the corruption. Take a look at this scence. You can see that he is angry and confused at corruption in big city. It all looks genuine
Katya is a ruthless and diabloical villian. Danny played perhaps the most badass villain in bollywood history. He doesn’t have big liar like 70s villian. His liar in his home. Everyone knows where it is. But he has a commanding presence. He gives a sense of evilness and dominance
. He does not have a history with Kashi but they develop a great rivalry. First time Katya and Kashi meet each
We dont see Katya as evil for evil sake. His evilness is derived by greed, pride and vengenace. Above scence is no nonsense and not for show off
Katya does something that no Villain ever did in Bollywood history. Completely breaking the main actor from both inside and outside. He makes his father (Amrish Puri) a dog in front of Kashi. No villain ever did it.
This scence is very emotional and pivotal to entire movie. We see Kashi becomes more and more aggressive.
It leads to my fav scence in this movie or perhaps entire 1990s
Hero is not showing off over here. It is absolute rage. 100 % badass. We can see that Kashi has reached his melting point. He is saying ” I will rip ur heart out u bastard, I will kill you all in your own house. I will kill you all togethe” Danny complements Sunny paaji extremely well. They look arch enemy
It is a great movie for action lovers
I would like to pay some tribute to Amrish Puri
He is one of the finest actor in Indian cinema. He delivers perhaps his best performance in this movie. He plays the role of a village man and a broken old man perfectly. This movie gave him a chance to play this role. He makes you smile and cry in this movie.
Joyomama: You are a Amrish Puri fan and u should like this movie.
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I would love to, now that I have more time. I have been just watching movies I can see in short sections, between work.
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Please post ur reviews of Ghatak. I would like to discuss a Bollywood that I like over here. It is sad that none of the movie that I like gets praised here
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BTW what do u think about my review?
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It makes me want to see it even more, even though you and I have different tastes.
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Thanks. It is fav movie of my village.
Yeah, we have different taste. I have different taste than anyone else over here. But it is a good blog to discuss Indian cinema in general. I discuss Punjabi cinema and music.
Difference can be be seen in following ways
People over here sae badrinath but not Logan. But I didnt even concern my self with it. I was only interested in Logan ripping apart bad guys. I consider it as best movie of this year.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is called classic and a perfect movie. I scratch my head and say are u kidding me
I and My mother are sad on the passing away of Roger Moore but I dont think anyone over here is even aware who he was.
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I am big fan of Alia Bhatt by yhe way.
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I say thanks once again. It takes real effort to like review like this.
I got tired. And could not write full review of love Punjab. It is not good. I will have to wait for next week.
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Booked tickets for Sachin this friday. Watched Godha – a good entertainer with good performance by all.
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Once again, the “better” Malayalam movie is not playing near me. So I will have to wait and see if Godha comes next week, or maybe wait for einthusan.
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Congrats
Please tell how was this movie. Due to some problems I wont be watching it. I will have tp wait yo download it.
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I dont think that anyone here is aware of Glory over here which is actually sad. My American friends suggested this movie to me and it is freaking awesome. It is a kind of movie that I enjoy. It is based first black regiment and Robert Gould Shaw. I read about it and made me salute. I like brave and patriotic men no matter where they come from. A poor freed black was shot multiple times but didn’t let American Flag touch the ground. I salute this guy. He should be inspiration for young americans not some rich black guy who refused to stand for national anthem
Talking about this movie.
It is a kind of movie that I love. It has great star cast, great star cast and great battle scences. Background score just add to the awesomeness of this movie. I was actually surprised why havent I heard this movie
Who thought Mathew Borderick can be badass
Most amazing thing. Morgan Freeman bitch slapping Denzel Washington. Only Morgan Freeman can get away by doing this
Morgan Freeman gets promoted to Sgt Major. It was a good start. He later became president and then became God
My fav scence. The ending battle. I love the reaction on the faces of men when Colnel Shaw dies
and they all charge on fort wagner. Battle scence was well crafted. Even without CGI you can do a lot
It is a great movie. My parents are also sucker for army movies like me. They also loved it. My dad was sad even when Pakistani govt refused to take bodies of Pakistani soldiers stating “They were also soldiers”.
I dont think that anyone over here likes these kinds of movies. But it was freaking awesome
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I saw Glory in a couple classes in college, history classes more than film. It was one of Denzel Washington’s first major roles. My Dad went to high school with the director. He was a bit of an nerd (the director, not my Dad).
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 9:41 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I am really surprised that u are aware of this movie. Even I didn’t enter this movie in my must watch list until recently. I regret that decision now.
Do you like this movie?
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And you are also aware who is Denzel Washington?
HAHAHAH
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I watched ep 2-6 of walking dead season 3. Read a research article in depth about complex reactions of cellular metabolism initiated by a small doubt while studying internal respiration. Fell asleep on couch full of small red ants and they took their revenge biting in all unconventional places.
Right now switched back to my original lost topic : respiration.
Does anybody else get lost like me while reading through a continuous chain of thoughts and ideas such that hours pass by and you wonder why/where did you leave the original book/article you started with?
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I do that constantly! The going from thought to thought to thought. I am sure you can see it in my reviews, how I start out by talking about the plot and end up with some big statement about the history of male-female relationships or something. And that’s the version I post, often there are whole paragraphs I pull out because they are just too off topic even for me.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 9:43 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Love Punjab is a kind of movie that you would all love and like. I think that I have suggested you this movie. It is a sweet film
It is story about Pragat and Jessica. Although, this movie is about discovering your roots. But it doesn’t overdo anything.
Pragat is a desi guy with Punjabi attitude but he is not shown to be wise. He extremely irresponsible and immoral. He is more interested in drinking with his friends rather than to be with his wife. He refuses to listen to her complaints. His wife leaves and he is flirting with his neigbor the next second. Amrinder Gill plays this role really well. We see him as a normal guy.
Jessica is a NRI. born and brought up in Canada. But she is not immoral. She is very strong, independent and mature. She loves Pragat but gets frustrated at his irresposible behaviour. Sargun Mehta is really good in it. SHe looks really beautiful in this movie. She matches Amrinder Gill. I think that she is reason for Amrinder Gill’s 3 biggest movies.
Punjab is depicted in very realistic way. They dont sell image of a rich, cultural society. Bad points are also highlighted. But it is still one’s culture
Music is excellent. No need to tell how good a singer is Amrinder Gill. I have said it before too. If you want to be singer and actor, Be Amrinder Gill not HImesh reshamiya
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I thought about posting videos. But no one watches my videos any more. It is a sad thing
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I request everyone to read my reviews and give their opinion. It took a lot of effort to think and write them
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I am sure people will try, but unfortunately effort does not always equal reward.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 9:57 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I am aware of that. But my reviews are really great. They are completely unbiased. I think they should be liked
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Read the latest installment in Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series which came out after *seven* years. The politics is complex, the characters always manage to surprise you,there’s almost always a twist at the end and the romance is seriously wacky.Falling for the woman who gave the orders to have his arm cut off! She had her reasons but still.But the author manages to pull it off.
After reading all about the Mukherjees, particularly Nutan, I decided to watch Saudagar (The Merchant) (1973). I see what you mean about Nutan disappearing into the role.She was quite convincing as the stoical Muslim widow from rural heartland, especially the part where she prepares Gur.Amitabh should be horsewhipped (to use Regency parlance) for what he did to her.The most funny part was when the aunties call Amitabh a ‘Chammak Challo’. I kept having Ra.One flashbacks.And Amitabh’s skinny legs while he’s climbing date palms.LOL.Plus the idea of Muslim young men not being able to marry because they had to pay Mehr to the bride’s father,was interesting.This being rural India, everyone is refreshingly open.S*x and divorce are not the taboo as in traditional Bollywood movies of that period.No hijabs for Nutan or the other Muslim women.Nobody is very religious either.I don’t remember Amitabh going to the Mosque or praying.
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I just looked up Saudagar, and it sounds fascinating! I may have to watch it at some point.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 2:37 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Game of Thrones Season 7 official trailer is here and it is mind blowing. Daenerys will finally attack westros. We also see possible invasion of white walkers. Cant wait to see it. I dont think that anyone cares about it here but I cant stop myself from sharing it wherever I can
King in the North
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I had to go to a conference last weekend, meaning I am spending a lot of time unruining my life since I have not had time to cook or clean for a bit. I did get to see Lion in the theater, and cried my behind off. Honestly, I had to go into the bathroom and think happy thoughts so I didn’t cry all the way home on the bus.
But one does get to see familiar faces: Nawaz, Tanishtha Chatterji and Deepti Naval! The last made me really want to watch her in something, so I watched Listen Amaya a couple of nights ago. It has her with Farooq Sheikh; I think actually Farooq’s last film. It is about two people in their sixties who fall in love. I wanted it to be a romance for older people, because who better to star in something like that? (Although I really liked the idea of Madhuri and Irrfan and wish that could really be a thing). But instead it focuses on the really off-putting extended bratty childish tantrum had by the heroine’s daughter when she finds her mother is planning to marry again. The behavior is never really adequately explained, I think, and not nearly as interesting as just a older-couple romance would have been. It kind of reminded me of a Japanese television movie, in that everyone has these really obvious emotions and expresses them in really obvious ways, if you know what I mean. So, next on the agenda is Chasme Baddoor, the original one, so maybe I can see Deepti and Farooq in a better movie? Or maybe not, I don’t know?
Advice from someone who moves a lot: put Shahrukh in the bathroom before anything else, so you know you’re home.
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I kind of want to embroider “Put Shahrukh in the bathroom before anything else, so you know you’re home” on a sampler or something. It feels like a saying that would be applicable in so many situations.
Chashme Baddoor, the original, is so sweet and so good. I’m pretty sure you will love it.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 10:59 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Also, I have a picture of Ranveer Singh in my office, near the floor behind my desk, so my students can’t see him but I can.
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Moviemavengal gave me a coffee mug with SRK, PRabhas, and Hrithik on it which I keep on my desk, but turned away so the pictures don’t show.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 11:50 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I saw King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword yesterday and I thorougly enjoyed it. It wasn’t like the other films previously made of Arthur. This was younger and energetic. It reminded me of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in places although I couldn’t pick out similarities with the Holmes movies (as many review mentioned).
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I read the reviews of it and they were negative. Hence, i didnt bother myself
you mean that this movie is enjoyable?
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Well, it depends on what you’re looking for. I am fond of Guy Ritchie movies and his style of story-telling and the humour. This is not one of those historically accurate, serious movies but rather delves into the supernatural elements the story of King Arthur is known for (mages and black magic and the dark arts, etc). It is predictable and I love Charlie Hunnam! I am so used to seeing King Arthur as this larger than life character that it was refreshing to see him been shown as a funny, atheltic, lovable ‘guy’. A couple of emotional moments resonated with me (about acceptance and forgiveness and all that) but other than that, its a fantastical film and reminded me of the animated movie made on King Arthur.
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Sounds interesting. I like these kind of movies
King Arthur is not histotical. At best, he was a warlord named Riothamus
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I’m debating about watching it. I liked the first Holmes, but not the second. And the reviews haven’t been great.
On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 7:30 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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A game of shadows isnt a bad movie. It was not able to match build up. First moviw gave a good buold up . Moriaroty was not thay threatening. Irene Adler died.
But it was a enjoyable movie. Could have been better if they cast Gary Oldman as Moriarity.
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Oh I know that – just was making it clear that this isn’t made in such a way.🙂 This is fun and flirty 😀
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I saw two fairly serious films this week. I first saw Madras Cafe since I wanted to see how Shoojit Sircar handled a more serious film and I thought it was well-made. But the movie was too sad and depressing for me.
Then I ended up watching Delhi-6 because I wanted to watch a movie with Sonam in it, and this was on my watchlist. I quite liked it and I thought it was interesting. I also realized that I actually like Sonam a lot, I feel like she’s quite underrated. I loved her in Neerja but I’m afraid to watch that movie again because I cried so much the first time.
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Delhi 6, according to various sources, was supposed to be as sad as Neerja. Which you can kind of see in how it is structured, it feels like it is building to some terrible tragedy. Abhishek is supposed to die, and his death brings the neighborhood together and like that. But the test audiences hated it, so they tacked on the random happy ending instead. Which makes it a happier film to watch, but a less good work of art as a whole. But I don’t care, because I just like happy endings! Oh, and one other thing with Delhi 6, I think that director is amazing at getting the best work out of a composer. The Delhi 6 album, and Rang De, and now Mirzya, are all classics.
I still haven’t seen Madras Cafe, and if you found it too sad and depressing, that probably means I don’t want to!
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Oh, that kind of makes sense. Is that why they suddenly had Amitabh talking to Abhishek. So they could get their point across but still not kill Abhishek off. I definitely like happy endings too! Out of all of the songs, I liked Masakali a lot but I think that’s because I’ve probably heard it before.
Plus Madras Cafe has Nargis Fakhri so you’re better off avoiding it 🙂
Speaking of Sonam, have you seen Aisha? I saw it with my mom way back when it came out and I liked it (I liked every movie I saw at that age 🙂 ). But I found out later that it flopped so I’m thinking of watching it again.
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I haven’t seen Aisha, but I am thinking about watching it. A lot of the criticisms and reasons it flopped sound like the reasons no one had expectations for Khoobsurat, and I love Khoobsurat. Strong female character, love story from her perspective, etc. etc.
On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 12:46 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I love Khoobsurat as well! Sonam is so endearing as Milli! Overall its such a cute movie!
I’m really curious at how Veere Di Wedding will turn out to be, I think it’s the same director as Khoobsurat and now it’s going to deal with four female characters.
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Margaret and Niki, have you seen Raanjhanaa? I’m curious of your opinion about the movie and Sonam’s acting. I saw it few months ago, and being honest I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t forget it too. I’ve been thinking for days about the story, Sonam and about Dhanush (I came from “oh, some random southern guy”, in the begining to “One of the best actors I’ve seen. Can I marry him?” at the end of the movie).
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I haven’t seen Raanjhanaa, but I am curious to hear others’ reactions based on what you said!
On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 2:28 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I thought Ranjhana was an excellent film, and that Sonam acted very well in it, too. I’ve actually found Sonam to be very good in all of her films that I saw (including Delhi 6 and Kubsoorat, and the bit of Aisha that I saw). I also thought the director was a bit confused in Ranjhana, but perhaps that was an intentional ambiguity. I won’t say any more about it, because I think you should discover it without any preconceptions. 🙂
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Will it be a spoiler if I say it’s not a light and happy movie? I think that one of the problems I had with this film is that I felt deceived. The posters were all colorful and happy so I thought it will be romantic comedy or something. But it wasn’t. And it wasn’t “bollywood” movie in my opinion, but more tamil (and I’m not much into tamil cinema). I don’t wanna spoil more, so I’ll only say that I would love to read Margaret’s review and discuss it more.
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I have seen Raanjhanaa and I wouldn’t say that I loved it right away but I thought it was really interesting and like you the movie stayed in my mind for a while. I think this is one of the movies where I rewatched some scenes the next day and I usually only do that if I really like the movie. I really liked Dhanush in Velaiilla Pattadhari so I happened to come across Raanjhanaa when I was looking at what other movies he did. I happened to really like the trailer and I also thought this was going to be a light and happy movie. At that time whenever I couldn’t get a hold of a movie I wanted to see, I would end up reading the plot on Wikipedia. Even though I already knew the twists in the plot, I still ended up enjoying the movie a lot.
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I know only the posters and cast of the movie. That’s why I was astonished when I saw that story is much more complicated than I thought.
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I just read something, I’m sure everybody’ve already known here, but I’ll share anyway. Madhavan along with Sai Pallavi will do tamil remake of “Charlie” . I haven’t been so excited about any movie since the time of KANK 🙂
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I’m excited too! That is a great role for Madhavan, and an interesting role for Sai.
On Fri, May 26, 2017 at 6:32 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Just watched Sachin. Loved it. It shows what he and his family went through during the bad times as well. Also the film shows the major events that happened inIndia during that time period like first missile launch, Mumbai blast etc.
For those non cricket fans Film stars such as SRK, amitabh bacchan, salman khan, aamir khan, hritik roshan, akshay kumar etc all make fleeing appearance. With Amitabh Bacchan and Amir khan talking as well.
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I love Aamir and Sachin’s bromance. Might be worth watching the film just for that.
On Fri, May 26, 2017 at 10:47 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Sachin is much much more than just bromance.
Much much much more.
Sachin unites everyone. I dont think that i can offer you an anology
Closest He is bigger star than SRK with much smaller ego and attitude.
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Here is the Sachin and Aamir Bromance
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SRK at Sachin Premiere
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Amitabh Bacchan at Sachin Premiere. This is bit emotional and fully in English
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Here is a review buy a bug non cricket fan Anna M Vetticad: http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/sachin-a-billion-dreams-heres-a-movie-review-by-a-cricket-non-fan-3484321.html
Alao my Mom hates cricket and doesnt know a single rule of Cricket but she loved the movie.
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Sounds really awesome. I wish I could watch it.
Once review said that theatre looked like stadium
Did it show classuc sachin knocks?
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yes it showed classic Sachin knocks but each one for few seconds only. it was much more personal. I felt he and his family was the main focus. The families love for him and vice versa. showing he is just another normal human being. the family moments where all so sweet as well (Which my parents loved).
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Hey Margaret! Nothing on the Tubelight trailer? There’s even a shot of Shahrukh in it 🙂
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I didn’t know it existed! Thanks for the heads up.
On Fri, May 26, 2017 at 1:23 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It came out yesterday actually. I liked the trailer better than the teaser.
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Check this tweet from Anupama Chopra
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Here’s the latest promotional song from Nani’s upcoming movie, Ninnu Kori. I quite liked it! I wish Ryan C. was back, he was a big fan of Nani’s…
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I’ve been missing Ryan C as well! Oh well, people come and go, I’ll still be here whenever.
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Yup, life gets busier at times. I’m going off to college this fall, so I doubt I’ll be as active here then as I am now.
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No!!!!! Don’t go to college! Much more important to stay here and keep commenting!
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Lol 🙂
Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to visit and comment often 🙂
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It’s Saturday already and I’m still here in this Wednesday topic 😉 but there was hindi movie in polish tv, and I just must share. Unfortunately the movie was Kick. I’m sure they aired it only because it was partialy made in Poland.
I don’t have words how bad this movie is. I knew that it is not a good film, but I didn’t expect something so bad. But really, really bad.There wasn’t one plausibile scene (my personal favourite: Salman driving red London bus with King Cross written on it in Warsaw!), the story was rushing, Salman was dancing like he had constipation, funny scenes were all pathetic. Haven’t seen so stupid movie for years! But what annoyed me the most was that I know that there are plenty of better bollywood movies, but most of the polish people don’t know that. They will think that indian cinema is like this: full of nonsense and bad taste
And how it’s possible that this movie made so much money? Or that movie critics gave it 4 stars?
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I hated Kick as well! It seemed like a badly made Dhoom movie. But the main reason I hated Kick was because they ruined the Telugu version which was so much fun. The lead in the Telugu version, Ravi Teja, is a better comic actor than Salman so the eccentricities in the character are much more entertaining. But the main difference for me is that the heroine in the Telugu Kick, Illeana, had a really fiesty character which I absolutely loved! I was so pissed off when I saw that Jacqeline’s character is so subdued and dull. Overall the romance was so much better in the Telugu version.
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You said everything I wanted to say, Niki. 🙂
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For me it seemed like bad b-grade movie with too much money. And there was barely any romance: Jacqeline went from “this guy is the worst” to “I wanna be with him” in 4 minutes. And only because Salman’s mad mother told her “I know you love him, I see it in your eyes”, and Jacqeline was like: “yeah, why not”.
But the movie really hit the bottom with the scene when ill girl’s parents commit suicide. They wasn’t able to gather enough money for her operation, and they are depressed. It’s normal, I can understand that, but how can they think that commiting suicide can help her feel better? It’s like: she will die, so what’s the point help her be happy, let’s make her an orphan. I mean, who wrote this nonsense?!
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The romance was definitely better in the original. The romance didn’t work for me at all in the Hindi version.
If I remember correctly, the parents do commit suicide in the original as well but that didn’t really bother me. I get your reasoning and it makes a lot of sense though.
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Since you mentioned how the Dostana album was one of your favorites the other day, I ended up rewatching the entire movie. You were right, there were a couple of songs that were pretty nice. The movie itself was hilarious! And Priyanka was so gorgeous! I really liked the movie and I’m kind of curios what Tarun Mansukhani will come up with in his next movie, Drive. Apparently it’s an action movie with Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqeline. I wonder if it’s going to be an action comedy or a straight up action movie.
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Oops, I pressed post on accident
I also saw Rarandoi Veduka Chudham which was Naga Chaitanya’s latest movie. I liked it though I thought his last two movies were better. The story of this movie was basically on the lines of his dad’s classic, Ninne Pelladatha. I think I’ve been pestering you about seeing Ninne Pelladatha ever since you saw Manam 🙂 . Anyway Rarandoi Veduka Chudham is a decent movie, especially if you like Naga Chaitanya like I do.
I also started rewatching Raanjhanaa again and I’m like 40 minutes in. I really liked it so far.
Another thing is that I noticed that Raees is now on Netflix. I checked and Shahrukh’s intro scene is shirtless which must mean that this is the full version right?
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oooo, Nagarjuna and Tabu! I like both those people. And I’ve enjoyed the other Nagarjuna films you recommended so I should really check it out.
And yes, what was reported was that the googleplay version cut the two Muharram sequences. Possibly to avoid offending the Middle East, because America certainly wouldn’t notice the difference between Shia and Sunni. Which means Shahrukh’s shirtless into is gone (nooooo!) and the action sequence later in the film doesn’t really make sense because the opening is cut.
On Sat, May 27, 2017 at 5:12 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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That’s about the same reaction you’ve given me every time I’ve recommended Ninne Pelladatha to you 🙂 But it’s an old movie, so you can take your time to get to it.
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Keep recommending, clearly I have short term memory loss and I will never see it unless you remind me once a week.
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Dostana is one of my semi-guilty pleasure movies. It’s so light and silly, but it’s so fun! And Abhishek is a blast, I am so glad he has started embracing his destiny as a comic lead.
On Sat, May 27, 2017 at 5:07 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I liked Dostana the first time I saw it but it was still forgettable. This time I found it to be really good and hilarious!
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